Jamaican Beef Patties

They were my standard "forgot to eat lunch, stop by a gas station" go-to fast food, they were the perfect accompaniment for the traditional daily Slurpee (Winnipeggers know what I mean!), and they were just... my perfect comfort food.

These meat pies consisted of a bright yellow, buttery pastry shell with a spicy filling - in hand pie form.

At some points in the year, I was able to get my hands on a fresher, more authentic version of my beloved gas station food - during Folklorma, for instance.

Man, Folklorama was the best festival ever - haven't gone in several years, and I STILL think it's the best I've been to / heard of!

All of the different cultural organizations set up a "pavilion" - usually a community center or curling rink - to be just this mecca of all-things-that-culture.

It's just this big multicultural smorgasbord, and I loved it. Folklorama is also responsible for my love of Haggis... ah, I loved the Scottish Pavilion!

The festival has actually introduced me to several foods that I ended up doing up recipes for, after moving away from Winnipeg: Moi Moi (African Pavilion), Samosas (India Pavilion, Punjab Pavilion, AND Tamil pavilion, if I recall correctly!), and Beet Ketchup (Indian Pavillion).

Anyway, my introduction to Jamaican food came from the Africa-Caribbean Pavillion, where I'd enjoy all manner of spicy caribbean treats, while listening to soca music and watching limbo dancers in a sweltering school gymnasium.

Aw, I miss it! Folklorama is the BEST.

Homemade Jamaican Patties

Anyway. Beef patties.

I was pretty disappointed when I realized that these delicious patties were NOWHERE to be found in Minnesota.

When I went on my pie making rampage the other week, I decided to try making my own Jamaican beef patty recipe.

I looked online to see if there were any existing recipes for what *I* knew as beef patties, and ended up pretty disappointed.

Overall, I could tell that none of the recipes I found would result in the right texture - kind of a creamy, pasty meat filling, NOT just regular ground beef texture - or the right spice profile.

I made my own pastry, bastardizing my uncle's pie crust recipe , converting the flaky dough to a savory recipe with the light taste / brilliant yellow color that I expect from a Jamaican beef patty crust.

Then, for the well-seasoned beef filling, I used the basic idea from making Cretons - a French Canadian meat spread - just SPICED up.

Oooh boy was it ever good.

In particular, the filling was so ridiculously accurate, I'm amazed that any of it actually made it as far as being married with the crusts. I could have just eaten it all with a spoon.

This is a great recipe - a bit of work, but so very worth it.

Enjoy!

Update: I've now developed recipes for Gluten-Free Jamaican Beef Patties AND Keto Jamaican Beef Patties!

Ingredients

This recipe may seem involved - there’s a LOT of flavour going on, especially in the flavorful beef filling - but they’re all fairly simple ingredients that should be easy enough to find in any larger grocery store.

Some notes for you:

Ground Beef... or Not

Growing up, pretty much all the Jamaican patties I ate had a ground beef filling... but you can do different fillings, to suit your tastes.

I always made this with lean ground beef, back when I first published this spicy beef patties recipe.

My husband can’t have beef now, so when I redid the photography recently, it was more of a jerk chicken - or curry chicken - type filling. Jamaican chicken patties are a thing, though.

Some day, I’ll make a batch of Jamaican “beef” patties for him, using Beyond Meat. It’s all good!

Lard

I designed the recipe for my Jamaican patty pastry around my great uncle Tom's Perfect Pie Crust Recipe... just seasoned a bit to make that Jamaican patty pastry yellow!

Anyway, Tom recommends using Tenderflake brand lard, which is apparently only available in Canada.

Vegetable shortening can be substituted if lard cannot be obtained, but is definitely not *preferable* to lard.

Scotch Bonnet Peppers

Scotch bonnet chiles are the hot pepper that bring SO much spice to these.

They can come as a green, yellow, orange, or red pepper, and are the main way I customize the spice level of these Jamaican beef patties.

For a mild filling, use one Scotch bonnet pepper. For medium, use two, and for a spicier patty, use 3 (or more!)

Can’t find Scotch bonnet peppers in your area? Substitute habanero peppers - they’re about the same on the scoville rating, and taste great in this recipe.

Whichever you use, I HIGHLY recommend using nitrile gloves when handling them! You do NOT want to get any of the pepper oil into your eyes, any cuts, or on any sensitive areas - and the burn can easily transfer from bare hands.

Spices

A variety of spices are used, both to flavour the meat filling, and to turn the crust of the Jamaican beef patties yellow. All told, you’ll need:

Allspice
Curry Powder
Dried Thyme
Ground Black Pepper
Ground Cloves
Salt
Turmeric Powder

Milk & Stock

I use both milk and broth to cook my meat filling recipe.

As far as the milk goes, you can use any dairy milk or unsweetened plant based milk you like. I used to use 2% milk, now I use unsweetened almond milk.

In terms of the broth, let your type of filling determine what you use.

If doing beef patties, use a beef broth or beef stock.

Making chicken patties? Use chicken broth or chicken stock.

Using Beyond Meat to make Jamaican veggie patties? Use a vegetable stock or broth, or one of those fake beef broths - whatever works for you!

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

All Purpose Flour
Large Onion
White Bread
Large Egg
Vinegar
Baking Powder

... all super basic ingredients, I really don’t have anything to add, here!

How to Make Jamaican Beef Patties

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is a pictorial walk through with detailed instructions.

Pastry Dough Recipe

Whisk water, egg, and vinegar together, set aside.

Add lard to the large bowl of dry ingredients, cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork gently, until it resembles gravel.

Note: You CAN do this in a food processor if you like - just be careful to not over-process the lard, or you won’t get a flaky crust!

Don’t over handle it! In Tom’s words, “Mix it with kindness”!

Gather the pastry dough into a loose ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes before using.

Patty Filling

In a large skillet, saute the onion and Scotch bonnet pepper together - in a little vegetable oil or olive oil - until onion is translucent and soft.

Add the spices, stir until well distributed.

You want a moist filling, but not soggy!

Cool to room temperature.

Assemble the Patties

Preheat oven to 400 F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to about ¼" thick, then cut into desired rounds / squares. For full sized patties, cut into 6-7" rounds or squares.

Note: I like to use a Rolling pin with adjustable thickness guides for rolling the dough.

Moisten edges of each crust with a little water. Fold each crust in half, pushing out some of the air as you go.

Press edges closed, then “crimp” by pressing down gently with the tines of a fork.

Whisk together egg and water, lightly brush this egg wash over the top of each pie. Poke each patty a few times with the fork tines.

For best results, cover the pans and chill for 20 minutes before baking. (Optional!)

Mini Jamaican Patties

For minis, cut rounds about 2-3" across.

Place about 1 tablespoon of filling on each round.

Note: This can be a bit more or less, depending on the size of your pastry rounds, and your technique.

I like to use an Empanada Press Set for folding and crimping mini Jamaican patties, I think they’re much cuter this way!

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown and the pastry is cooked through.

Serving and Storing

Serve your Jamaican Patties hot, with your choice of hot sauce (Pickapeppa Sauce is a good choice!), coco bread, and maybe a Jamaican Soda!

Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap (or transferred to an airtight container) and either stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or frozen.

Best when reheated in an air fryer or toaster oven, but 45 seconds in a microwave works as well (it just won’t be as crispy).

More International Recipes

Growing up in Winnipeg gave me a taste for international cuisine. Here are a few of my favourite recipes!

Chicken Shahi Korma
Croquembouche
Gyoza - Potstickers
How to Make Haggis
Moi Moi - Nigerian Bean Pudding
Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
Pavlova
Perogies
Piroshki - Sauerkraut Balls
Pistachio Macarons
Potatiskorv - Swedish Potato Sausage
Punjabi Samosa
Spanakopita Triangles
Thai Mango Salad
Toum - Lebanese Garlic Dip
Yemisir Wat - Berbere Lentils
Za'atar Manakish

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